Old school designers will understand

Shout out to the old school. Call me old fashioned, but I always try to buy classic style designs to support that aesthetic.

My old school designers will remember the CorelScript language being very vague.

Nowadays aspiring designers have moved away from Corel and on to tools like the Adobe design suite. They will never know the pain of using the Corel Photo-Paint’s Recorder function to record activities. And everyone sharing their own tutorials on how to make it work -_- 

And then having to save that recording as a CorelScript that you it can be used over again at a later date.

This was a great way to provide custom controls and settings to batch file programs or to build an array of specialized processes that you need repeat only once and then call on your script forever after. Nowadays I can do it in Adobe in about 3 clicks 🤣

I can say that I miss some of the old school programs, but I think the new surroundings are better for my mental health LOL

The old school software even had VCR controls at the top of the recorder box! For those of you who don;t know what a VCR is:

Philips VCR from decades ago. I had one just like this!

The cost of CorelDraw is a bit much for me these days, and the power of new free tools like Pixlr and Canva really blow me away.

Anyway’s I’m about to take the dog for a walk, so I leave you with the SONG OF THE DAY

Breaking Benjamin – Blow me Away

The post “Old school designers will understand” was originally posted on http://www.corelmag.com/2020/10/old-school-designers-will-understand.html

Delicious scrambled eggs

 

A delicious runny yolk egg beaten with 2 egg whites cooked with some fresh toast. A beautiful way to enjoy some eggs on another day of quarantine 🙂
At least golf courses are open now, so I will get a chance to get some sunshine and test out my brand new women’s golf clothes. I’m sure I’ll be a bit rusty and lose a few balls, but I’m really looking forward to it. My husband got a new golf hat and headcovers for Father’s Day. Since the sun is finally out again, so he’ll be hitting the links in that too.
I wonder if I’ll beat him on that par 3 again? 😂
What have you all been missing out on in the last few months that you’re looking forward to again?

The post “Delicious scrambled eggs” was originally posted on http://www.corelmag.com/2020/10/delicious-scrambled-eggs.html

ask these questions when exploring a new city

Due to COVID-19 international travel is a no-go for me…

But staycations and domestic travel are on the rise 🙂

And because most domestic locations have already been experienced by your friends, family and associates, you can ask them questions!

Genevieve from The Wander Bug put together the top 10 questions to ask a traveller and I ❤ it.

Ask these 10 questions before you explore a new city:

  1. Which was your favourite place you visited?
  2. Was the country/city like you expected it to be?
  3. What surprised you the most about how people live there?
  4. Were you able to pick up some of the local language?
  5. What was your favourite neighbourhood?
  6. Did the places you visited remind you of anywhere else?
  7. What was the most memorable meal of the trip?
  8. What was the highlight of your trip?
  9. Would you re-visit anywhere you went? Will you go back to see other parts of the country?
  10. Would you ever consider moving there?
And even though there are a lot of convincing reasons to give up your car you can probably just drive to the destination (well, if its in your state anyways).
The are alternative transport options if you are sans-car, such as:
  • train
  • plane
  • helicopter
of which many are starting to resume normal activities (particular at smaller airports).
We have a beautiful country here, and there’s so many ways to see it. In challenging times, its best to travel locally and support our economy as many businesses are doing it tough at the moment with the lack of international tourism.
Safe travels!

The post “ask these questions when exploring a new city” was originally posted on http://www.corelmag.com/2020/07/ask-these-questions-when-exploring-new.html

Is it safe to go to the dentist now?

COVID19 has been a crazy time for all Australians, but we’re getting through it quite well compared to many other countries.

One of the challeneges I’ve faced during this time are the regularly scheduled services that have been out of actions.

A few days ago a reminder went off in my phone to book in for a dental check up.

But is it safe to go to the dentist now? I decided to do some research….

According to the Australian Dental Association (ADA), dental practices already operate with a high degree of health protection. However, all of the staff will follow the government’s guidelines, which will include the wearing of appropriate PPE equipment, social distancing measures, and regular use of hand sanitizer and hand washing. 

Here’s the official statement:

Australian dental practitioners have the highest infection control standards in the world and the safety of their patients and their teams is a cornerstone of Australian dental practice. Dentists are now at ‘Level 1’ restrictions; this means where appropriate, dentists may take extra precautions, and if required you will be advised of these. – ada.org.au

That’s reassuring. I noticed my dentist seems to always have plenty of PPE on when I go there, so it didn’t come as a surprise to hear that Aussie dentists have some of the strictest regulations in the World.

So these reductions to Level 1 Restriuctions means that dentists are almost back to normal. Here’s the full explainer for how the levels work: https://www.ada.org.au/Campaign/COVID-19/Managing-COVID-19/Practice-Resources/Dental-restriction-Levels/ADA-dental-restriction-levels-in-COVID-19-Publishe.aspx

I’ve always tried to keep my home a cavity-free zone, so I’ll need to book in the kids for a check-up too.

I’m so grateful that children (under 18 years old) can access free public dental services in NSW. All children seen by public dental services receive the same high quality care regardless of their eligibility for CDBS and no fees are charged, even if CDBS benefits have been fully used up.

Shoutout to the Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS) ✌️

The post “Is it safe to go to the dentist now?” was originally posted on http://www.corelmag.com/2020/06/is-it-safe-to-go-to-dentist-now.html

What cute ducks!

I recently came across an article which explained the benefits of having ducks in your home.

Why on earth was I looking this up?

Well, I came across this adorable video on Instagram:

//www.instagram.com/embed.js

The duck rasising blog Mother Duck Said has a bunch fo tips on how to raise ducks and benefit from these funny, egg laying birds.

Not convinced about raising a couple of these poop machines in your home?

Well according to the experts:

Duck hens bred for egg-laying ability can lay up to 350 eggs a year, each of which will weigh 20 percent to 35 percent more than a chicken egg. Furthermore, they will produce longer than a chicken, well into a fifth or even sixth season – long after chicken hens are ready for soup.

I also learned from a chef friend of mine that duck eggs are a specialty product among chefs who love them for their superior flavor.

The post “What cute ducks!” was originally posted on http://www.corelmag.com/2020/03/what-cute-ducks.html

Virtual Reality Coming to Old Folks

I recently came across this very exciting news regarding a new Aussie start-up that is utilising Virtual Reality in aged-care facilities.

The company is an aged care entertainment provider SilVR Adventures has launched a new national self-service model for residential care facilities.

Some of you may know that I am passionate about healthcare and aged care design & construction, so companies that are paving the way for a new kind of aged-care experience definitely caught my eye!

Here’s what the CEO of the company had to say about the product:

Source: australianageingagenda.com.au

The VR program aims to improve resident engagement and happiness and reduce isolation.

They do this through three types of experiences:

  • reminiscence therapy to trigger memories and conversations, such as revisiting a childhood home or country they emigrated from
  • world travel, such as exploring Paris, swimming with dolphins or going on an African Safari, to leave the aged care home and create social interaction with fellow residents
  • family bonding to overcome allow residents to experience adventures with visiting family members, such as watching a sunrise or the Aurora Borealis together

All SilVR Adventures services help providers bring virtual reality to their residents in group format rather than one on one.

How cool is that! Imagine being able to take your grandma back to her childhood via virtual reality!

I am really interested in these new cutting edge technologies being used in the aged-care space and virtual tours of house and land packages. I’ll try to update my blog with new interesting ideas that I come across 🙂

The post “Virtual Reality Coming to Old Folks” was originally posted on http://www.corelmag.com/2020/03/virtual-reality-coming-to-old-folks.html

Healthy Life Healthy Living

2020 is well and truly underway, and I’ve decided to start living healthier.

Our business has been growing, and the stress of that has had its impact on my diet…

BUT NO MORE

I loved the corporate lunch we had catered for our first 2020 meeting and it was the perfect nudge I needed to take action!

A friend of mine recommended a high-fat, low sugar diet to start with. I’m not prepared to go full ketogenic diet, but I think I can take this step.

They recommended a few high fat foods and much to my surprise, they’re some of my favourites!

  • Avocados 
  • Free Range Eggs 
  • Nuts 
  • Full-Fat Yogurt 
  • Fatty Fish 
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil 
  • Dark Chocolate 
  • Coconuts
  • Coconut Oil 
  • Chia Seeds 
  • Cheese
Here’s some more good suggestions I found in my research:

The post “Healthy Life Healthy Living” was originally posted on http://www.corelmag.com/2020/02/healthy-life-healthy-living.html

Happy New Year from Corel

Hi all,

I hope your 2020 has started off fantastically!

I’ve been working hard on my new side project. I’ll have some more to share with you in the coming months. In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek.

In the meantime, I wanted to commend the firefighters around Australia who are working 16-hour days to put out the bushfires which have ravaged our beautiful country.

New Years Resolution

My new years resolution for 2020 (c/o of Disher Benner) is to be as “green” as possible. So here’s a list of things I’m focusing on this year to make my family a little more eco-friendly.
  • Bring our own shopping bags ALL THE TIME (i sometimes forget)
  • Cook from scratch and meal plan. Save more money and get more nutrients
  • Eat organic as much as possible. Less GMO foods and hormones
  • Eat better meat, and eat a lot less of it. Better for us and less wastage
  • Get the chemicals out of our beauty products and hygiene products (PS I’m loving this organic perfume I got for xmas!)
  • Bring our own water bottles rather than buying disposable
  • Hang your laundry to dry rather than use the clothes dryer

Today’s song of the day:

Dance Monkey by Tones and I

I love to play this while I’m doing some housework 🙂

The post “Happy New Year from Corel ” was originally posted on http://www.corelmag.com/2020/01/happy-new-year-from-corel.html

Should I stay or should I go now?

I came across this article on The Painted Drawer about outgrowing your home, which is something that has been playing around in my mind lately.

The kids are getting bigger, and we purchased a bigger a few years ago to accommodate, but now our house is starting to feel a little on the small side.

they are a growing family and need a house that will be closer to schools

YES! That’s exactly it. It would make life a lot simpler for us.

It also got me thinking about this song:

I LOVE the Clash!

Anyways the post had some interesting ideas about adding a “garden house” to get a little of that new home feeling. I think that might be American for “Granny flat”? Either way, it’s not a bad idea.

I’ll have to consider that. But the real question is…

So you got to let me know
Should I stay or should I go?

The post “Should I stay or should I go now?” was originally posted on http://www.corelmag.com/2019/10/should-i-stay-or-should-i-go-now.html

I’m watching you alll (with heatmaps)

I recently read an article about heatmapping apps that could help me improve the user sexperience of my websit. It was quite informative, so I decided to give it a try!

Heatmap software is great because it can show you where users click, how far they scroll, where their mouse moves…
Basically I can see exactly how you interact with the website.
I have only used heatmap software briefly, but I have already learned a lot in terms of usability issues on my website. I found this video particularly useful:
So be on the look out for changes to my website soon!

The post “I’m watching you alll (with heatmaps)” was originally posted on http://www.corelmag.com/2019/06/im-watching-you-alll-with-heatmaps.html